Stone House Country Estate

The original Tudor Manor House was built in 1495 by the Roberts Dunn family who were gifted the thousand-acre estate when Henry VIII demolished Warbleton Priory. The Priory, situated at the centre of the estate, was rebuilt over the years as a farmhouse. In the 70’s Peter Dunn converted the property into The Priory Hotel, a small country house hotel with an enviable reputation. The Priory is now returned to a private house.

Meanwhile at the family home, Stone House, the original Tudor Manor was further developed with the addition of an impressive Georgian wing in 1735, creating the perfect mix of Tudor splendour and Georgian opulence.

Much has changed over the years, but the unique character of two great periods of English history have been retained throughout the house, from the dark dank cellar to the staff quarters on the second floor. Stone House and many of the features of the estate are now listed Grade II*.

Not only a family home, Stone House has always been a working estate and continues to provide excellent winter shooting and grazing on the parkland. For several years it was a successful pre-prep school. The school bell can still be found in the kitchen beside the AGA and is often used for calling order.

The next stage of the house’s development came in the 80’s when, following the success of The Priory Hotel, Peter and Jane Dunn opened their family home Stone House as a small, intimate country house hotel, specialising in the finest food, wine and service. Jane, now retired, is a member of the guild of British Master Chefs, running culinary courses and entertaining many high profile clients including Marco Pierre White and Rick Stein, who filmed one of his food hero TV programs with Jane in the kitchen.

Sadly Peter is no longer with us and Jane is enjoying a well deserved retirement. So 2022 heralds the latest development in the estate’s on-going history as an exclusive use venue for weddings and other  memorable family celebrations, private dinner parties, classic afternoon teas, corporate hospitality and the most perfect, two period location for film, TV and photo shoots.

The Georgian walled kitchen garden forms part of the more extensive formal gardens. Sadly these have not been kept as well as they should in recent years, but now are a work in progress. Full restoration will take several years, but a good start has been made.

Not many properties in England, let alone East Sussex can boast they have been owned by the same family since the first stone was laid back in 1495.

Welcome to the Stone House Country Estate. More than 500 years of family and estate history.